adjectivethird declension
dēterior
dēterior (comparative, neuter dēterius, positive *dēter, superlative dēterrimus)
Classical[deːˈtɛ.ri.ɔr]Ecclesiastical[deˈtɛː.ri.or]
Meaning
- comparativeworse, lower, inferior, poorer
SĪMŌ: Tum sīquis magistrum cēpit ad eam rem improbum, / ipsum animum aegrōtum ad dēteriōrem partem plērumque applicat.
Then if someone gets an evil teacher for that purpose, it usually turns his own lovesick mind toward the worse path.166 BCE, Publius Terentius Afer, Andria 192–193Magnam Caesarem iniuriam facere, qui suo adventu vectigalia sibi deteriora faceret.
Caesar perpetrated a great injustice against him, as by his coming Caesar had lowered his revenues.c. 52 BCE, Julius Caesar, Commentarii de bello Gallico 1.36
Latīnē defined in Latin in our graded readers
peiordēterior -ius — in Metamorphoses I, ch. 14
Choosing the right word Döderlein's Latin Synonyms
Deterior · Pejor
Deterior (a double comparative from de) means, like χείρων, that which has degenerated from a good state, that which has become less worthy; whereas pejor (from πεζός), like κακίων, that which has fallen from bad to worse, that which is more evil than it was. Hence Sallust. Or. Phil. 3. Æmilius omnium flagitiorum postremus, qui pejor an ignavior sit deliberari non potest:—in this passage deterior would form no antithesis to ignavior. The deterrimi are the objects of contempt, the pessimi of abhorrence; Catullus employs the expression pessimas puellas, ‘the worst of girls,’ in a jocular sense, in a passage where this expression has a peculiar force; whereas deterrimus could, under no circumstances, be employed as a jocular expression, any more than the words wretched, depraved. (i. 53.)
Declension
| form | masculine | feminine | neuter |
|---|---|---|---|
| nominative | dēterior | dēterior | dēterius |
| genitive | dēteriōris | dēteriōris | dēteriōris |
| dative | dēteriōrī | dēteriōrī | dēteriōrī |
| accusative | dēteriōrem | dēteriōrem | dēterius |
| ablative | dēteriōre dēteriōrī | dēteriōre dēteriōrī | dēteriōre dēteriōrī |
| vocative | dēterior | dēterior | dēterius |
| form | masculine | feminine | neuter |
|---|---|---|---|
| nominative | dēteriōrēs | dēteriōrēs | dēteriōra |
| genitive | dēteriōrum | dēteriōrum | dēteriōrum |
| dative | dēteriōribus | dēteriōribus | dēteriōribus |
| accusative | dēteriōrēs dēteriōrīs | dēteriōrēs dēteriōrīs | dēteriōra |
| ablative | dēteriōribus | dēteriōribus | dēteriōribus |
| vocative | dēteriōrēs | dēteriōrēs | dēteriōra |
Phrases from Meissner's Latin Phrase-Book
- meliore (deteriore) condicione esse, uti
- to find one's circumstances altered for the better (the worse).
dētĕrĭor, ius,
I. adj. comp. (sup. deterrimus, a um) [from an obs. adj. deter, from de, down; hence, lower, inferior, worse], worse, poorer, meaner (freq. and class.—for syn. cf.: malus, injustus, improbus; pravus, nequam, corruptus, perversus; and the compp. pejor, etc.).
I. Of inanimate things: seges, Enn. ap. Cic. Tusc. 2, 5, 13:
ruina rem non fecit deteriorem, haud scio an jam fructuosiorem, Cic. Att. 14, 11 fin.: so, vectigalia, * Caes. B. G. 1, 36, 4: muraena carne, Hor. S. 2, 8, 44: deterior ac decolor aetas, Verg. A. 8, 326: forma, Lucr. 4, 1275: mores, Plaut. Merc. 5, 1, 9: via, id. Trin. 3, 2, 54 et saep.: video meliora proboque, Deteriora sequor, Ov. M. 7, 21: cuncta aucta in deterius, Tac. A. 2, 82; 3, 10; id. H. 3, 13 al.—Sup.: genus reipublicae ex bono in deterrimum conversum, Cic. Rep. 2, 26; so, genus, id. ib. 1, 42: finis, id. Lael. 16, 59: causa belli, Hor. S. 1, 3, 107: color, Verg. G. 3, 82: cogitare optima simul et deterrima, Quint. 12, 1, 4 et saep.—II. Of persons:
quo deteriores anteponantur bonis, Plaut. Poen. prol. 39; opp. melior, Cic. Phil. 13, 19; Quint. 2, 4, 21 al.; opp. optimus, Liv. 39, 27; opp. strenuior, Plaut. Ep. 3, 4, 10: vidi ego nequam homines, verum te neminem deteriorem, id. Bac. 5, 2, 61 et saep.: peditatu erat deterior, weaker, Nep. Eum. 3 fin.: infideli deterior, Vulg. 1 Tim. 5, 8.—Sup.: homo deterrime et impudentissime, Cic. Verr. 2, 2, 16; id. Tusc. 1, 33, 81.—dēterius, adv., worse, less: de male Graecis Latine scripta deterius, Cic. Fin. 1, 3, 8: nequi deterius huic sit quam quoi pessumest, Plaut. Capt. 3, 5, 80: valeo, Luccei. ap. Cic. Fam. 5, 14: olet herba, Hor. Ep. 1, 10, 19: spe nostra si placeant, id. S. 1, 10, 90.Charlton Lewis's shorter dictionary for students: the same scholarship in plain, modern definitions.
dēterior ius, adj. comp. with sup. dēterrimus
de, lower, worse, poorer, meaner : tempus, less favorable : status: vectigalia sibi deteriora facere, Cs.: muraena carne, H.: aetas, V.: quo (peditatu) erat deteriore, i. e. in which he was weaker , N.: video meliora, Deteriora sequor, O.: proles Auro deterior, O.: in deterius mutare, Ta.—Plur m . as subst, the degenerate , H.—Plur n . as subst: pronus deterioribus princeps, Ta.—Sup: illum esse quam deterrimum, T.: genus rei p. ex bono in deterrumum conversum: color, V.: aqua, H.: homo omnium deterrimus: patronus.
Origins
From Old Latin *dēter, from dē.